Nanyang

Nanyang is the city defended by Zhang Xiu where Jia Xu’s stratagem turns Cao Cao’s assault into a major defeat. In the account, the city’s vulnerable southeastern wall and the appearance of preparations elsewhere become instruments of deception: Cao Cao’s forces break through where they expect weakness, only to encounter an ambush concealed among the streets and houses.

Strategic Setting

After Zhang Xiu joins forces with Liu Biao, Cao Cao defeats him in open battle and pursues him to Nanyang. Zhang Xiu shuts himself inside the city as Cao Cao’s troops surround it and appear close to breaking in. The siege places the city at the center of a contest over information and access: Cao Cao studies its defenses, while Jia Xu watches what Cao Cao seems to have noticed.

The Wall Stratagem

Jia Xu identifies the southeastern section as the genuinely weak point. Its earth ramparts are crumbling, and wooden stakes make up much of the barrier. Cao Cao, however, has also piled materials on the northwest side, giving the impression that he intends to attack there. Jia Xu reads this apparent focus as a deliberate feint and proposes that Zhang Xiu mirror it: conceal elite troops inside houses and lanes near the southeastern wall, while putting ordinary people in armor on the northwest defenses to suggest that the city’s strength lies there.

The deception succeeds because Cao Cao’s men report heightened activity on the northwest wall. Taking the signs as evidence of the defenders’ plans, Cao Cao orders an assault on the southeastern wall at night. His soldiers scale the crumbling defenses and pull down the wooden stakes, entering the city at the point Jia Xu has prepared. The hidden troops spring the ambush, and the attack becomes a rout. The account says Cao Cao loses fifty thousand soldiers.

Retreat and Wider Consequences

After the defeat, Cao Cao retreats from Nanyang. Zhang Xiu sends a messenger to Liu Biao urging him to attack the withdrawing army and prevent its escape. Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu then pursue Cao Cao, striking repeatedly and slowing his progress. The retreat changes direction when news arrives that Yuan Shao is planning to attack Cao Cao’s base: Cao Cao hurries back, turning a withdrawal into a race to meet a new threat.

Nanyang’s significance in this episode lies not simply in its walls but in how the defenders exploit the gap between what Cao Cao sees and what Jia Xu understands. A real weakness is made to look like an opportunity, while visible preparations disguise the trap. The city’s defenses thus shape both the immediate reversal and the pursuit that follows.